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6 Ways to Ensure You are Indispensable to the Charge Nurse After CNA Training

Your Career After CNA Training

You’ve completed your CNA training and found a job you love. You are working with a fantastic team of nursing assistants and nurses whom you respect, and you want nothing more than to become a more valuable part of that team. Making sure you are indispensable to the charge nurse after CNA training is the first step in doing so, as it could mean you are more likely to receive a raise, be asked to assist with more procedures, and be assigned to better floors and units.

If you want to become indispensable to your charge nurse after CNA training, consider the following tips.

Becoming a Valuable Part of a Healthcare Team After CNA Training

Don’t call in all the time- There are going to be days when you feel under the weather or when an emergency comes up, but repeatedly calling in to work can ruin your reputation with the charge nurse, as well as your co-workers who have also completed CNA training. In the health care field, nursing assistant are one of the most important parts of great care, and if you call in all the time, everyone else has to pick up your slack. In short, if you want your charge nurse to respect you after CNA training, don’t call in to work when it isn’t needed.

Show up on time- Being late to work doesn’t just mean you are short 20 minutes on your paycheck; it also means other aides have to do your job, residents have to go without during that time, and nursing assistants from previous shifts have to stay late to help until you arrive for your shift. If you want to be indispensable to your charge nurse, arrive on time, or if possible, early.

Share information with your nurse- If there are changes in a patient’s behavior or a patient develops new symptoms, let your charge nurse know as quickly as possible. Nothing makes them more upset than finding out, several hours after the problem first occurred, that a patient has had a fever, fell, or hasn’t eaten. In CNA training, you were taught that you were responsible for observing and reporting these problems. By reporting them quickly, you make yourself a more valuable part of the team.

Don’t complain about your assignments- You may not always get the mild-mannered residents, and you may be asked to accept new patients as they are admitted. Don’t complain about it. Humbly and gracefully accept any assignments you are given and provide all of your patients with the care and attention they deserve.

Be willing to train new aides- Want more responsibility and respect? Make sure you are available to train any new nursing assistants that have recently completed CNA training and joined your team. Be a role model for new assistants, demonstrating the correct practices and skills needed to care for patients in the facility.

Be humble- You’ve completed CNA training and are being asked by your charge nurse to help with a variety of tasks, but this doesn’t mean you should hold yourself higher than the other CNAs working with you. You aren’t better than everyone else, and you shouldn’t act like it. Nurses appreciate it when a CNA can admit their mistakes, shortcomings and continue to learn.

CNA Training and Careers

If you want to become a more valuable part of your team and indispensable to your charge nurse, consider these tips and make sure you make the most of your CNA training.